Bobby Fischer: Icelandic Kibitzer!

In 2006, the Icelandic TV station Ríkisútvarpið RUV broadcast a rapid match between masters Arnar Gunnarson and Bragi Thorfinsson in which the position below was reached.

Gunnarson, playing Black and short of time, picked up his King before noticing the move would get him mated. He replaced his King and tried to play a Queen move instead but his opponent and the arbiter enforced the touchmove rule, resulting in 37…Kg8?? 38.Qxg8#

This was a blitz playoff game and these events are common enough. What happened next, however, was certainly not common.

The TV station received a call from a viewer suggesting that in the pictured position, Black could have won the game with a brilliant combination. The name of the caller? Bobby Fischer!

Iceland was Fischer’s adopted home from 2005 until his death in 2008 and it is clear that Bobby retained at least some of his love for chess.